The Gulf of Tonkin: The Attack That Never Happened | Documentary

On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution — 416 to 0 in the House, 88 to 2 in the Senate — authorizing war in Vietnam over a naval attack that never happened. Two senators, Wayne Morse of Oregon and Ernest Gruening of Alaska, cast the only votes against it, and both were out of the Senate within four years. This is the story of a phantom battle in the dark, the warning cable Washington ignored, and the two paragraphs that carried America into a decade of war. Chapters: 00:00 The Vote 01:19 The Covert War 03:37 August Second 05:46 The Phantom Attack 08:17 Retaliation 10:34 Grandma's Nightshirt 13:25 The Cost 15:57 The Reckoning The Somber Archive tells the stories of those who were right too soon, recognized too late, or forgotten entirely. Music: "Introverted Chords" from the Calm Pills collection by Alaeddin Hallak, released under CC0 (Public Domain). #gulfoftonkin #history #documentary #vietnamwar #coldwar #ushistory